Striped bass and big bluefish continue to provide red hot action for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association.
Captain John Koegler of 'Pop's Pride' had a busman's holiday one day last week when he took mates Dante Soriente and Jay Sweeney along with a couple of friends out for some intense jigging just off the coast of Long Beach Island. The final total catch on stripers was 30 with 22 released and over 60 huge bluefish up to 15 pounds with all released. All were caught jigging with 8 different types of jigs. They fished from BH Inlet to Surf City. One of the boats fishing nearby reported by radio they landed a bluefin tuna of about 60 pounds on a Stretch 30 Plug. This was the second tuna reported this week.
Captain Fran Verdi of the 'Dropoff' fished with his friend Bob on the 'Sea Fevre' recently and started around Little Egg Inlet with little success. They headed up the beach on a tip and found some bait and picked up a couple of shorts. They then located an immense flock of birds working and had nonstop action on bass for the next 2 hours jigging with diamond jigs.
The next day Captain Verdi was back on the 'Drop Off' and had the co-owners of his boat, 'Cousins.' Despite thick fog and rough seas in the ocean, they decided to set up in the inlet with clams. They had several run offs and boated a nice pair of bass at 32 and 36-inches.
Captain Dave Wittenborn of the 'Compass Rose' just returned from a fabulous fishing adventure in the Turks and Caico Islands in the Caribbean. Although the fishing was a bit slow, he said the place was beautiful although the water was churned up from hurricanes. They did manage to catch several wahoo to 35-pounds.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com